Explanation: Analyses of a new high-resolution map of microwave light emitted only 380,000 years after the Big Bang appear to define our universe more precisely than ever before. The eagerly awaited results announced last year from the orbiting Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe resolve several long-standing disagreements in cosmology rooted in less precise data. Specifically, present analyses of above WMAP all-sky image indicate that the universe is 13.7 billion years old (accurate to 1 percent), composed of 73 percent dark energy, 23 percent cold dark matter, and only 4 percent atoms, is currently expanding at the rate of 71 km/sec/Mpc (accurate to 5 percent), underwent episodes of rapid expansion called inflation, and will expand forever. Astronomers will likely research the foundations and implications of these results for years to come.

Fuente: NASA

Part of the CMB sky, as measured by the COBE, WMAP, and Planck satellite experiments, illustrates the improved resolution offered by each generation of satellite. In the upper left corner are COBE data at a resolution of seven degrees. Next is the sky as seen at 94 GHz by WMAP, with a resolution of about 15 arcminutes. Next is a strip in which WMAP data from all bands are combined and smoothed (the so-called Internal Linear Combination), controlling foreground emission and noise at the expense of angular resolution. Next are simulated Planck temperature data at their anticipated resolution of around five arcminutes. Finally, simulated Planck polarization data smoothed to 15 arcminutes are shown superimposed on the temperature anisotropies. Planck's sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency coverage will allow it to extract essentially all available information on primary CMB temperature anisotropies, and make a dramatic advance in measurements of CMB polarization.